Step 29: Create iPod/phone mount on inside of suitcase

Step 30: Rock out

You're done! Have fun! Be sure to check the voltage readout on the charge controller occasionally and make sure the battery doesn't get too drained ...

The Suitcase Boombox is a vintage suitcase converted into a boombox, complete with two subwoofers and four tweeters. The whole system is powered by two lead acid batteries hooked up to a charge controller, so the boombox can be charged via an AC/DC power supply or even a solar panel. The mini amplifier delivers 25 watts of power per channel, giving the system a lot of volume, comparable to a car audio system. You could definitely take this out to the park and start your own mini dance party or use it to play loud music in your room. What I love most about this project is that no two suitcase boomboxes will ever look the same. Depending on the type of suitcase you use and the size and configuration of your speaker setup, there is plenty of room to apply your own personal style to the project and make something truly unique.

the only issue i'm having is with the trickle charger. i used the components you listed, but for some reason the charge controller doesn't indicate that the batteries (12 V 5 amp) are charging. any suggestions?

Had a few questions, sorry if they've alreayd been answeredWould it be possible to add subwoofer into the mix or some sort of midrange speakersI don't know a lot about what the best combo is but have space from something else in my caseAlso what do you have a suggestion for a Lithium battery set up?And one last thing, if I didn't want to include the solar charge capability what parts would I omit or have to replace?Thanks and love the project

Is there a wiring diagram somewhere? I am pretty confused on how the circuit works. The power connects to the 'array' terminals of the solar charge controller, while the amp AND the battery connect to the 'battery' terminals of the controller? I can see that you've spliced some wires for this part, but since everything is the same colour its difficult to see what is going on.

wow sounds great! thanks for the instruc. im pretty much using the exact setup as the one you made. but what voltage is too low to recharge. or what number on the solar charger is a sign i should charge the batteries?

Great great great ! I have started it but would like a different charging /power system. What would be your recommendation if I want to use a lithium batterie ? How did you come up with 4 Ah? The charger manual recommends 45 Ah ! Would you have a link or another instructable tokindda teach how to : calculate the batteries you need for the system you decide to setup and then how to choose the charging system accordingly? Many thanks for the help this is awesome!

Thanks for your answer !I would like to charge it using the mains electricity.I know that lithium batteries are a bit difficult to charge, and especially dangerous. That´s why i was considering lifepo4 batteries but am not happy about the charging device i could find so far. Any idea advise would be more than welcome.Again congrats for your suitcase, i love it...

if you want to charge from a wall socket then you don't need to use a charge controller, just unplug the battery from the amplifier circuit and connect it to the charger that the battery manufacturer recommends for the lithium battery (you could even setup a switch to toggle between connecting to the amp and the charger). I picked two 4Ah batteries bc that was the most I could fit without getting too heavy, Lithium batteries are not as heavy though, so you might choose something that lasts even longer

Yes you're right, I will need a toggle switch while charging, it bring some complexity to my system to use now... I wonder now how most our device (laptops and so on) could still be used while charging. Also, i saw a nice suitcase boombox that had a usb port for charging, which I love. Usb charger I have would deliver 5v 1A, so seems not compatible with a 12 v battery? Do you know a usb charger that could do the trick ?Many thanks for your help again...

Laptops have built in charging circuits that senses when to switch. It is possible to find an IC that could possible do the same. I believe maxim makes such ICs. For that sake of simplicity I'm probably just gonna use a 3 way switch myself. Charge, OFF and AC. I'm also pretty sure you can find mini amps with usb charging ports.

It's custom made for DIY soundsystems like this. It monitors the battery so it won't go under 11,5v (at which point the battery becomes lazy and won't recharge) and handles power switching duties. By building in a power supply and a charger the suitcase is self-contained and the AccuSafe circuit switches the amp to the power supply and the battery to the charger when I hook up the power.

if you use a different amp (that only requires 5V) you could run the whole system off 5V batteries and charge via usb. I'd imagine that charging via usb will take longer than charging through the wall socket.

there are plenty of bluetooth receivers that you could hook up to this setup, best choice would probably be something you could wire up to the suitcase power supply, so you don't have to worry about charging it separately.

hi ive almost all the parts to make my suitcase boombox. is the power adapter 1000 ma = to 1 A? if so you said 1.5 A adapter and your link to radioshack specifies 1A or 1000ma. im new to electronix and am wondering if i could go higher or just get to the charger on the link. HELP SOS = save our suitcase

I love this project. I'm thinking about making as a gift for my mother. The only thing I was thinking about changing was possibly making it a bit smaller and using lithium charger and batteries. Pretty sure it should make the case lighter and also get more charges.

This is awesome. What would you suggest if I wanted to forgo the solar and simply use a 12v battery and wire it directly to a small amp? I saw a Lepai 2020+ that seems to makes sense. It seems that then to charge it i wouldn't want to open the suitcase so could i just also have wires hooked up to the battery to a jack that i could plug in the charger from outside the suitcase. If I did this does there need to be a toggle switch or can the battery just be hooked up to both at the same time, and take a charge when i plug in the charger to the wall, and run the amp at the same time if needed?

yeah I think that would work. To be safe I'd say you would want to switch between the charger and the amp. But you could plug in the amp's original power supply at the same time, and just switch to that power while you're sharing so that you never have to turn it off completely, does that make sense?

I was using the charge controller with charging from the wall and it seems to have drained the batteries and now they won't charge. Any suggestions on a how to wire if i just want a wall charge or any suggestions on an appropriate solar charging unit?

hmm... google/amazon for lead acid battery charger - you can hook that straight up to the batteries to charge. Once you get the batteries drained low enough, you won't be able to charge them with the charge controller. If you just want to use the system indoors, I'd recommend wiring up the amplifier's original power supply.

First off, THANK YOU for the step by step, I wouldn't have been able to execute this without the detailed guide. I finished last night and sounds amazing. The only question I have - Step 28 - are the red and black wires that are soldered to the external audio jack both 22 gauge wires? One for positive, one for negative? I didn't want to assume and just start wiring away.

looks great! yes I just used 22 gauge for this, you could use speaker wire too if you have extra left over. There are three connections: two red wires (one for each channel +) and one black ground wire.

Built a unit similar to this for a busker,years ago, minus the solar stuff. It worked great & flew around the world many times.Might still be out there somewhere. Great job on comstruction & Instructable !! CHEERS!!